Lustau Almacenista Amontillado NV

Lustau Almacenista
Amontillado NV
Price: $28.50 Case Price: $25.65 ea
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White
Fortified
Traditional
Jennie, 500 ml
Lustau
Palomino
46°-54° F
Spain > Jerez
José Luis González Obregón was once a cellar-master for a large bodega, but
he decided to retire in order to establish, in 1989, a family bodega. The business
then passed into the hands of his nephew, Manuel González Verano. There are
a large number of soleras here, but one in particular – the Amontillado del
Puerto, a tiny solera of just ten butts – is taken off their hands by Lustau. Tasting
it, that seems like a pretty smart decision on Lustau’s part.
The Lustau Almacenista José Luis González Obregón Amontillado del Puerto
has a rich hue in the glass, a burnished orange-gold. The nose is remarkable, all
dried wood and baked earth at first, the dry and dusty suggestion of baking sun
on terracotta pan tiles, then suddenly there are notes of orange oil, mint, and
liquorice root too. It is, quite literally, fascinating. There follows a glorious texture
to the palate, all vinous and savoury, with a dry and spicy-peppery energy. There
is flavour complexity to eclipse the nose here, vanilla brûlée, toasty and rich yet
dry and energetic. And in the finish, it is very, very long.
Lustau may be the most reliable producer of sherry around.
In the bodegas, a team, headed by Juan Fuentes Romero, the Capataz General,
has the responsibility for making sure that the Sherry blends maintain the high
standards that have been set, for deciding on which butts of sherry are needed
for a blend and how each butt is developing. The wine is created by nature: it is
the job of the cellarmaster to ensure that nature receives every assistance
possible.
In addition to their vast selection of reserve sherries, sells a line of Almacenista
sherries, each from the cellar of a particular local businessman who ages the
sherries as a hobby, not as a career. Their work in the cellar is professional,
however, and their names appear on the labels as due recognition for their
devotion to raising a distinctive and high-quality product.
Jerez has been a centre of viniculture since wine-making was introduced to
Spain by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The practice was carried on by the
Romans when they took control of Iberia around 200 BC. The Moors conquered
the region in AD 711 and introduced distillation, which led to the development of
brandy and fortified wine. The word "sherry" is an anglicization of Jerez. In
earlier times, sherry was known as sack from the Spanish saca, meaning "a
removal from the solera."
Tasting Notes